Then Wen Zhong said to Lu Ming,
"You can go out first. Close the door."
Delighted to hear Wen Zhong tell him to leave, Lu Ming eagerly scurried out and shut the door behind him.
Once the office was empty, Wen Zhong did not speak right away. He simply looked at Wen Ning.
Wen Ning stood before the desk. His godfather's presence was still far too intimidating.
"You're certain it was this snake demon, right?"
Wen Zhong finally spoke.
Wen Ning was silent for two seconds, wondering whether he should come clean.
Then he raised a hand and scratched the back of his head, an extremely sheepish smile spreading across his face.
"Heh heh."
He started with a sheepish chuckle.
"It wasn't him. It was another snake."
Wen Zhong wore an expression that said he had known all along.
Wen Ning hurried to add,
"He's a good monster, though, so... heh heh."
He chuckled again.
Wen Zhong looked at Wen Ning for a full three seconds.
Then he rolled his eyes.
If the other Heavenly Officials in the Thunder Department had seen that,
they probably would have been so frightened they would all have resigned on the spot.
"I knew it."
There was a note of resignation in Wen Zhong's voice.
He stopped tapping his fingers on the desk, picked up his pen again, and added a few more words to the file, speaking as he wrote without looking up.
"All right. As long as someone takes responsibility for this, it doesn't matter who."
Wen Zhong signed the official document in the file and finally put down his pen.
"The tribulation energy between heaven and earth is growing heavier."
Wen Zhong's voice was somewhat somber.
"You need to hurry and take your rightful place as soon as possible, too."
The